If your planning on a snub nose really just go with 38 special save the 357 for something larger, especially if you go with a light gun, if your gonna carry make sure it's +P. Everybody says get a 357/38 unless you reload 357 is pretty rough, chances are you,ll only shoot 38,s in it anyway.At one time I had quite a few snubs sold them all kept the Ruger LCR 38. My favorites in 357's are my 4" & 6" Ruger GP100's.

I own the CZ TEAL in 12 gauge bought it when it's on sale $550 I'm North of 3500 to 4000 rounds trouble free. It's Turkish oh well for the price couldn't be happier. Mainly 5 Stand & Sporting Clays. My next O/U will probably be a Browning CYNERGY CX priced around $1500 not super fancy but solid. Great entry level gun. Also personal preference I prefer Mechanical Triggers vs Inertia.

Depending on your budget ROSSI lever guns are a great starting point, After that HENRY, UBERTI, a few others I own 2 ROSSI'S in 357 Mag & 454Casull /45 Colt. Just a side note on levers ROSSI has a side gate load HENRY tube fed only personal preference thing.

If you want 38/357 cheap reliable can't beat a Rossi they have aftermarket trigger kits if you want a smoother trigger, you can upgrade to a Henry sweet out of the box usually. The big difference is Henry's are tube fed only the Rossi has a loading side gate.